Emerging Diseases

Flexible research support frees the creative scientific spirit of public health researchers. Even small gifts can support new equipment and allow scientists to pursue a new line of inquiry without the delays of applying and waiting for a grant — these can be the key to breakthroughs against pernicious diseases like Zika, Ebola, and dengue.

The Bloomberg School plays a key leadership role by convening the world's leading experts to fight emerging health catastrophes, such as our Zika Symposium in February 2016. Read more on Zika from our expert faculty: Anna Durbin in International Health and Andrew Pekosz in Microbiology and Molecular Immunology.

A single-dose dengue vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing human volunteers from contracting the virus, the most prevalent mosquito-borne virus in the world. JHSPH researchers were also the first to show that infection with dengue virus turns on mosquito genes that makes them hungrier and better feeders, and therefore possibly more likely to spread the disease to humans.

In 2015, the Bloomberg School live-streamed an Ebola symposium featuring leaders from Hopkins, the government, and other leading institutions, resulting in 45,000 views from all 50 states and over 90 countries. Read more about our leadership in fighting Ebola.